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Agence France-Presse

Andy Murray survived a five-set rollercoaster to defeat battling Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 7-6 (12-10), 6-1, 3-6, 4-6, 6-1 and reach his seventh Wimbledon semi-final on Wednesday.
Second seed Murray, the 2013 champion at the All England Club, goes on to face Czech 10th seed Tomas Berdych on Friday in what will be his 20th semi-final at the majors.
It was 29-year-old Murray’s 13th win in 15 match-ups with 12th seeded Tsonga and his 100th career grass-court win.
But like Roger Federer, who came back from two sets down to beat Marin Cilic earlier in the day on Centre Court, Murray did it the hard way.

Having looked in cruise control after two sets, he lost his way against the big-serving Tsonga, who was chasing a third appearance in the semi-finals.
Murray rallied impressively in the decider, screaming out to his box “there’s no way I’m losing this match” before making good on his rallying call.
“It was a tough match. Tsonga is one of the best grass-court players in the world and he came up with some great shots at big moments,” Murray said.
“I just tried to use all my energy at the start of the fifth set to get myself pumped up and thankfully I got the early break and managed to hang onto it.”
“In any of the slams when you get to the final stages you want to play your best tennis and win.
“At the beginning you try to work your way through and play good tennis but now you are trying to get through matches and play as well as possible and I am happy to get into the semis.”

Murray’s first problem of the quarter-final was to get grit out of his right eye.
It wasn’t too much of a distraction as he broke for 3-2 before Tsonga returned the favour for 4-4.
Both men wasted three set points apiece in the ensuing tiebreak before Murray pocketed it, just about fair reward for his high-speed scrambling.
The second set went by in a flash with Murray easing through in 26 minutes, a whole 50 minutes quicker than the marathon opener.
Tsonga, 31, looked down and out but suddenly called on a new source of energy to secure the third set courtesy of a break in the seventh game.

Murray ranted with himself and umpire Fergus Murphy as he went completely off the boil and Tsonga levelled an increasingly tense quarter-final.
But buoyed by his own passionate war cry, Murray raced to a 5-0 lead in the decider before sealing victory with a 15th ace after four hours of breathless ups and downs.
Murray has an 8-6 record against Berdych who made the 2010 final at Wimbledon.
“It will be a very tough match [against Berdych]. He has been to the final here, beaten Djokovic and Federer at Wimbledon and is very very good,” said Murray.
“He has won some tough matches here, he’s played a lot of tennis and I will need to play well.”


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Wimbledon

Andy Murray survives five-set thriller to reach Wimbledon semi-finals

Andy Murray celebrates his win over Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the quarter-finals . Photo: EPA

Andy Murray of Britain throws his wrist bands to the crowd on Centre Court as he celebrates after defeating Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France in their men's singles quarterfinal match on day ten of the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, Wednesday, July 6, 2016. (AP Photo/Tim Ireland)

epa05411540 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France plays Andy Murray of Britain in their quarter final match during the Wimbledon Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis Club, in London, Britain, 06 July 2016. EPA/ANDY RAIN EDITORIAL USE ONLY/NO COMMERCIAL SALES

Andy Murray of Britain, right gives Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France a hug after he defeated Tsonga in their men's singles quarterfinal match on day ten of the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, Wednesday, July 6, 2016. (AP Photo/Tim Ireland)

Comeback king: Roger Federer saves three match points to reach 11th Wimbledon semi-final

One for the ages: Roger Federer celebrates beating Marin Cilic to move into the semi-finals at this year’s Wimbledon. Photo: AFP

epa05410790 Milos Raonic of Canada celebrates his win over Sam Querrey of the US in their quarter final match during the Wimbledon Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis Club, in London, Britain, 06 July 2016. EPA/GERRY PENNY EDITORIAL USE ONLY/NO COMMERCIAL SALES

Britain Tennis - Wimbledon - All England Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club, Wimbledon, England - 6/7/16 USA's Sam Querrey reacts during his match against Canada's Milos Raonic REUTERS/Toby Melville

Croatia's Marin Cilic reacts after a point against Switzerland's Roger Federer during their men's singles quarter-final match on the tenth day of the 2016 Wimbledon Championships at The All England Lawn Tennis Club in Wimbledon, southwest London, on July 6, 2016. / AFP PHOTO / JUSTIN TALLIS / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE

Sport

Tennis

Scot forced to dig deep against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga


Andy Murray survives five-set thriller to reach Wimbledon semi-finals

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Scot forced to dig deep against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

Scot forced to dig deep against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga